The Cause and Effect Saga - Extra: War
by Faylinn Night
Summary: Forgive her crudeness, but Coyo wished her mother was wrong. War was a terrible inheritance, and she wanted nothing to do with it… [OC-Centric Drabbles] [Coyolxauhqui; Izel; Huitzilopochtli]
1. Inheritance

**A/N:** Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, everyone! :D

" _The Distance_ " is easily the most frustrating book I've had to work with. To help deal with it (with the setting and new cast), I have yet another drabble series. It focuses on the fictional K'ekchi Tribe. The tribe is notable in my _Cause and Effect_ series and the focal point of " _The Distance_ ". Main, if not only, POV will be Coyolxauhqui, who will be Leonardo's future love interest. I may use her best friend Izel and brother Huitzi, too. We'll see...

Coyolxauhqui is pronounced "Cō-hōl-shall-ski"  
Coatlicue is pronounced "Kwah-tlee-kway"

* * *

 **"INHERITANCE"**

Coyolxauhqui stared up at Chieftain Coatlicue. The woman kept calm, her expression soft and her words gentle. All despite the brutal deaths K'ekchi Warrior Atl listed. How? Ever since the first name, a sting had coated Coyo's eyes. These were her people, her friends and family. And in her short life, so many of their faces had disappeared from the village…

"Thank you, Warrior Atl," Coatlicue said. She and her husband exchanged bowed heads before the man returned to his wounded troops by a large fire.

"My Lady," Coyolxauhqui whispered.

Coatlicue fingers squeezed Coyo's little hand. "A respectable woman always keeps composed," she said softly. "Never look away. Never drop your chin. And never cry in public."

Deep down, Coyo hated her tribe's traditional rules; they were hard to follow. But she tensed her jaw anyway, swallowing a lump in her throat that soon returned.

"You will be in my position one day, Coyolxauhqui," added the woman. "By then, you must contain your emotions."

That would be a miserable life, the child decided. Always being controlled, despite how hurt, terrified, or enraged she felt? It was like wearing a lie across one's face. Like how Coatlicue stared into the fire with vacant eyes—although Coyo knew she longed to scream at their Great Spirit.

"I do not wish to be Chieftain," whispered Coyo.

"Life is not about what _we_ want, but what we are _meant_ for. This war is our obligation. When I, your father and brother pass, it will be yours, too."

Forgive her crudeness, but Coyo wished her mother was wrong. War was a terrible inheritance, and she wanted nothing to do with it…

* * *

 **A/N:** Which basically sums Coyo up for her book. Bah. I got so much to flesh out...By the time the book's complete, you may know her as intimately as the other girls. XD


	2. Yolotli

**A/N:** At this rate, I'm lucky enough to write a drabble a month. *sigh* Author struggles are real, guys. Now.

Sahhir ( _Sah-kyir_ ) is a fictional term you'll hear pretty often in " _The Distance_ ". Basically, it means "outsider" or "not part of the body".

* * *

 **"YOLOTLI"**

The Sahhir were so close, Coyolxauhqui could hear their feet crunching dried plants around her. Not that they knew it. And so long as the girl stayed still inside a rotten log, they would never be aware, either.

' _Get here soon, Huitzi_ ,' Coyo thought, curling up tight. ' _I'm scared…_ '

Something warm between her hands trembled then trilled—a reminder that her fear was shared.

"Ca—calm down," Coyo whispered.

She met a baby Macaw's round, black eyes. The poor thing quivered, squawking. His struggles smeared blood across Coyo's palms, but the girl stroked his beak until he rested against her beating chest. Together, they breathed, and in time, the crunches grew silent.

Thank the Mother Goddess.

"Coyo?" Huitzilopochtli's voice carried through the rainforest. Coyo heeded it by waving a hand outside the rotten log's top. Her brother's face appeared then. He looked unhappy. "How is _this_ staying close?"

"I—I listened," Coyo said upwards. "But the flock. I—I could not—"

"Flock? What flock?"

The girl swallowed as she lifted the Macaw for her brother to see. Hardly feathered and coated in red, he trembled.

"A chick?" Huitzi asked.

"Yes. Huitzi"—Coyo cringed—"they shot his mother. Crushed his siblings. Because they made too much noise, gave away their position. It was…it was awful."

Sighing, Huitzi pulled his sister from the log. She felt heavy outside and so squatted in the ferns.

Her brother frowned as she massaged the chick's scraggly wings, asking, "You saw them do this?"

Coyo nodded.

"And you let emotion overcome you."

Again, Coyo nodded.

"This is war, Coyo. You will see much worse in your reign."

The girl knew as much, which made her all the more sure of her decision. "Our enemies have harmed him," she said. "I will give him sanctuary."

"Coyolxauhqui." Coyo glanced up, expecting a lecture, only Huitzi countered her stern stare with a smile. "That sounds like what a compassionate Chieftain would say. Will you name him?"

"Yes." Coyo let a smile overcome her. "He listens to my heart. See?" Her finger tapped the Macaw's head that rubbed against her chest. "I will call him Yolotli."

Yolotli squawked—not in distress but excitement—and he was content with how Coyo cradled him all the way to K'ekchi Village.

* * *

 **A/N:** And thus a life-time love was born. Yes, Yo is a character in Leo's book. :)


End file.
